Most players who’ve been at padel for six months or so have the same feeling: they understand the game, they enjoy it, but they’re stuck in the same patterns. Points go the same way. The same mistakes keep appearing.
These tips aren’t technique fixes – they’re the habits and mental shifts that move the needle for players who are past the absolute beginner stage and wondering what to work on next.
Get to the net – and stay there
The single most important tactical habit in padel is simple: the pair that controls the net wins. This is not a gentle suggestion. It is how the game is structured.
If you watch any match at any level above absolute beginner, the team at the net is in control. The team at the baseline is defending. You want to be the team at the net.
The problem for most players in their first year is that they retreat to the baseline out of instinct – the ball goes to the back, they go to the back, and they stay there. Getting to the net feels aggressive, exposed, uncertain. But staying at the baseline is where points bleed away.
Read more about court positioning and specifically how to win at the net.
Your serve is already good enough
Stop trying to win points with your serve. You won’t. And more importantly: you don’t need to.
The padel serve is underarm, cross-court, and lands in the service box – it is a low-pressure shot designed to start the rally, not end it. A serve that goes in reliably and lands deep is all you need. Trying to add pace or spin at this stage just adds faults and broken concentration.
The useful mindset shift: think of the serve as your ticket into the point. Once it’s in, you’re in the rally. That’s where the game is won.
Use the lob earlier than feels right
Most recreational players lob too late and too hesitantly. By the time they decide to lob, they’re already under pressure, the shot is flat, and the opponents smash it back.
A well-timed lob – hit early, high, and deep – is one of the most effective shots in the game. It resets the point, forces the other pair back to the baseline, and gives you time to advance. Padel is one of the only sports where the defensive shot is also a tactical weapon.
The cue: if the net players are both pressing and you’re behind the service line, lob. Hit it higher than feels necessary. Give it space. A lob that’s too high is much better than one that barely clears a reaching arm.
Find the full breakdown of when to use the lob and how to make it land.
Talking to your partner changes everything
Padel is doubles. Doubles is a communication sport. And most casual players play the whole match in silence apart from “good shot” and “mine.”
What helps: calling the ball early (“mine” or “yours” before anyone commits), telling your partner what you’re about to do (“going back,” “stay up”), and agreeing on a basic game plan before you start – even something as simple as “we’re going to lob anything to the back left” makes a difference.
You don’t need a coaching debrief. You need five sentences before the game and a few words during. Players who talk during a match improve faster and enjoy it more. The two things are related.
Common mistakes that keep players stuck
A few patterns show up again and again at the 3–12 month stage:
Popping the lob. A lob that doesn’t clear the opponent nets you a smash and ends the point. The fix is height, not pace – most players don’t miss the lob because of power, they miss it because of angle. Hit up, not forward. Here’s why lobs keep going wrong.
Over-hitting from the back. Trying to hit winners from the baseline is how points get given away. From deep in your own half, the goal is to stay in the rally, reset the point, and wait for a better opportunity.
Retreating after every shot. Related to the net position habit above. Once you’re in a rally at or near the service line, don’t drift back after each shot. Stay forward. Pressure comes from position, not power.
Ignoring the volley. Many players avoid the net because the volley feels uncertain. The volley is a simpler shot than it looks – you’re redirecting pace, not generating it. Getting comfortable at the net early on makes everything else easier. Here’s a starter guide to the padel volley.
You don’t need new kit
A recurring pattern: players who’ve been at it six months start thinking about upgrading their racket. Sometimes a new racket is the right call. More often, it isn’t.
A mid-range racket in the hands of someone working on positioning and timing will outperform an expensive one in the hands of someone who hasn’t figured those things out yet. The improvements available through habit change are larger than the improvements available through equipment at this stage.
If you want to invest, invest in court time and a couple of lessons. The racket question will still be there in three months – and by then you’ll have a clearer sense of what you want.
Read a no-fluff take on how to improve at padel without relying on kit changes. If you’re still finding regular games, the social padel guide covers the formats – Americanos, ladders, open matches – that give your play structure.
The actual edge at this level
Most casual padel is decided by unforced errors, not winners. The player who hits fewer balls into the net, fewer lobs out the back, and fewer attempted smashes from impossible positions will win more matches – regardless of technique.
That means the edge at this level is mostly mental and habitual: staying patient, staying at the net, communicating with your partner, and playing percentage shots instead of glory shots. None of this requires lessons. It requires noticing your patterns and choosing differently.
The technique will come. It comes faster when the habits are already in place.